32 Sports Stars With Their Own Alcohol Brands

Mario Andretti was named the driver of the century by the Associated Press in 2000. He won the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, the Formula One World Championship, and the IndyCar National Championship four times. After he retired from racing in 1994, he established the Andretti Winery in Napa Valley in 1996 with Joe Antonini, former CEO of Kmart – a sponsor from Andretti’s racing days.

Mexican-born golfer Abraham Ancer has been steadily improving his performance on the PGA Tour. He had nine top-10 finishes that included a victory at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Ancer has partnered with actor Mark Wahlberg and Aron Marquez, a tool company executive from Mexico whom Ancer met at the Fort Worth Invitational in 2018, to create Flecha Azul Tequila.

Drew Bledsoe is the answer to the trivia question Who did Tom Brady replace at quarterback for the New England Patriots in 2001? The four-time Pro Bowler retired in 2007 and returned to his hometown of Walla Walla, Washington to start his estate vineyard, McQueen. He and his wife, Maura, launched the winery, Doubleback, in 2008, with ambitions to make a world-class cabernet sauvignon. The first vintage was named a Wine Spectator Top 100 Wine of the World.

Famed English cricketer Ian Botham was introduced to wine when he was 17 by noted English journalist John Arlott, author and cricket commentator for the BBC’s Test Match Special. That developed his passion for wine that led to his founding his line of wines with friends Bob Willis and Geoff Merrill. Their first vintage came out in 2001 and his first full range in 2018. Many of the wines come from various regions of Australia, though there are also some from New Zealand, South Africa, and Argentina. (Botham also lends his name to a London dry gin called 22 Yards – which happens to be the length of a cricket pitch.)

Hall-of-Famer Terry Bradshaw is one of the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks, with four Super Bowl victories. He launched Bradshaw Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey in 2020. His bourbon was rated among the “15 excellent wines and spirits with celebrities at the helm” by Forbes.

Two of South Africa’s most famous exports are its wines and Ernie Els, who has won four Majors golf titles and two World Golf Championships. Over the course of his golfing career, he developed a passion for fine wine, and in 1999, Els created Ernie Els Wines. He selected the renowned wine-growing region of Stellenbosch to base his business.

Following on the success of his chain of steakhouses, two-time Super Bowl champion John Elway founded 7 Cellars Wine in Napa Valley with business partner Jeff Sperbeck and winemaker Rob Mondavi (the “7” references Elway’s football jersey number). Their first vintages were a 2013 cabernet and a 2014 chardonnay. In March 2020, they expanded their range to include the “Farm Collection” – a reference to Stanford University (nicknamed “the Farm”), where he played college ball.

English golfer Nick Faldo, with six Majors championships and a No. 1 ranking for 98 weeks in his storied career, launched Nick Faldo Wine in 2000. Based in the Coonawarra region of South Australia, the winery produces sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon, and shiraz.

Another South African golfer with a line of wines is David Frost. He is not a Johnny-come-lately to the business. He and his family have been in the wine business for 60 years. Frost used the money he earned picking grapes to buy his first set of clubs and balls. In 1994, he purchased a 300-acre vineyard in the Paarl wine region of South Africa and produced his first cases of cabernet sauvignon in 1997.

Premier League champion soccer player Christian Fuchs created a line of liquors including vodka, gin, and rum, all distilled in England. Fuchs has also leveraged his NoFuchsGiven brand to start a line of clothing and a video series on soccer. The website says NoFuchsGiven “is more than a brand. It is a lifestyle choice … Breaking away from society’s norms.”

Retief Goosen is one of the best golfers over the past 25 years, winning two U.S. Open Championships and being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Goosen is another South African athlete who’s capitalized on his nation’s well-regarded wine reputation. Goose Wines is located in the Upper Langkloof Valley in the Garden Route of South Africa. The first vintage of what is known as the Goose Expression was a 2005 blend of equal parts cabernet sauvignon and shiraz.

Racing fans know Jeff Gordon as the man who won the Nascar Cup Series four times. However, he’s also producing red wines from Napa Valley. Along with partner winemakers August “Joe” Briggs and Jesse Inman, Jeff Gordon Cellars released its first wine, a Carneros chardonnay, in 2005.

Wayne Gretzky is the greatest player in hockey history, holding 61 NHL records to go along with his four Stanley Cup triumphs. When he was growing up in Ontario, Gretzky picked grapes that his grandfather used to make homemade wine. That instilled a love for wine in him, and he eventually created his own collection. In 2017, he opened the Wayne Gretzky Estates Winery and Distillery in Niagara-on-the-Lake wine country in Ontario. His beverage empire also includes a whisky.

Defensive back Terry Hoage, who won a Super Bowl with the Washington Redskins in 1992, and his wife Jennifer founded TH Estates Vineyards in the Willow Creek District of Paso Robles, California. They focus on the production of Rhône-style wines. The first two vintages of TH wines in 2002 and 2003 were made by Justin Smith of Saxum Vineyards,Terry Hoage’s wine mentor.

LeBron James is one of the greatest basketball players ever, having scored the second-most points of any player in history. He’s been the NBA’s MVP four times and he led the Miami Heat to NBA titles in 2012 and 2013, and the Cleveland Cavaliers to the championship in 2016. James’ business interests include television series production, deals with Nike, Coca-Cola, and Verizon. He extended his business portfolio by investing in Lobos Tequila in 2020.

Along with Silicon Valley entrepreneur T. J. Rodgers, Hall-of-Fame Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter became an early investor in Bespoken Spirits – because, he said, he’s “committed to partnering with innovative companies that disrupt the status quo in a positive way.” Jeter first met Stu Aaron, the co-founder of Bespoken along with Martin Janousek, when the five-time World Series was starting The Players’ Tribune media platform. The company produces rum and several types of whiskey.

Michael Jordan is on the short list of the greatest basketball players of all time. After winning an NCAA basketball championship, “Air Jordan” shifted to the NBA and won the league scoring title a record 10 times, including seven consecutive years. and also racked up five six NBA titles. He is also the majority owner of the Carolina Hornets, and he jumped into the tequila business with four other NBA owners to create a super-premium tequila brand called Cincoro Tequila. “Cincoro” is a portmanteau of the Spanish words, “cinco” and “oro” – meaning “five” and “gold.”

Cristie Kerr is the third highest-earning LPGA Tour player of all time, trailing only Annika Sörenstam and Karrie Webb. Among her 20 tour victories are the 2007 U.S Women’s Open, and the 2010 Women’s PGA Championship. Kerr said her passion for wine began when she competed in a tournament in Napa Valley in 2000. In 2007, she partnered with Pride Mountain Vineyard owner Suzanne Pride Bryan to produce a line of Curvature Wines, dedicated to raising money to help fight breast cancer. In 2013, she and partner Erik Stevens launched a second enterprise, Kerr Cellars, with winemaker Helen Keplinger.

Brian Laudrup is a Danish former soccer player whose career was cut short by injuries, though he did play on two Danish champion teams in the 1980s as well as other European clubs. Laudrup lived in Scotland for four years and appreciated the craft of making distilled liquor. He set out to create his own dry gin, combining Scottish craftsmanship and traditional ingredients with the flavor of rhubarb, a favorite in Danish desserts. “For our family, it was essential this was a premium product infused with elements from both nations,” he said on his website.

Randy Lewis was a professional race car driver for 23 years. He ran in five Indy 500s where he qualified on the fourth row three times with a best finish of 13th. While racing in Europe he discovered a love for local wines and lifestyles. He and his wife Debbie established a family winery in Napa Valley in 1992. They were joined by their son Dennis seven years later. They produce about 9,000 cases of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah, chardonnay, and sauvignon blanc a year.

Yao Ming became the first Chinese-born player to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Yao made eight All-Star teams, averaged 19 points and nine rebounds, and was named to the All-NBA team five times. After he retired, Yao opened his Napa Valley winery, and it has created cabernets and its reserve was lauded by The Wine Advocate.

Rick Mirer played quarterback for Notre Dame and then played professionally for five teams. As an actor, he appeared in the hit “Jerry Maguire.” Mirer developed his passion for wine when he played for the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders. In 2008, he opened his Mirror Napa Valley winery, releasing two cabernets among other wines.

Also known as “The Shark,” Australian-born golfer Greg Norman won more than 90 tournaments, including two British Open Championships. In 2001, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. In 1996, he founded Greg Norman Estates, a collection of wines from California, New Zealand, and Australia that has earned plaudits from Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast.

Arnold Palmer’s common-man personality, charisma, and success raised golf’s popularity to new heights in the 1950s and ’60s. He won 92 tournaments, including seven Majors. Mike Moone founded Luna Winery in Napa Valley in 1996 and Palmer invested in it. Moone had met Palmer during a previous role as president of Beringer Winery. Luna began producing an Arnold Palmer Red and eventually launched a full Arnold Palmer Wines range.

Danica Patrick is one of only two women to ever complete both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500. Her win at the 2008 Indy Japan 300 marked the first time a woman had ever won an IndyCar Series Race. She fell in love with the Napa Valley in the early 2000s after dining there at the French Laundry, and winemaker Aaron Pott later showed her around and advised her when she bought land there and created her Somnium (Latin for “dream”) brand. A cabernet sauvignon was her first wine.

Mike Piazza is regarded as the greatest hitting catcher in baseball history. The Hall-of-Famer hit 427 home runs, 396 as a catcher, the most by any player at that position, and had a lifetime batting average of .308. In 2020, Piazza launched True Vodka, whose ingredients of mixed rye and wheat grains are from Italy, tapping into Piazza’s Italian heritage.

Scottie Pippen played 17 seasons in the NBA and was a small forward on the Chicago Bulls, helping them win six NBA titles. Digits Bourbon – with the image of Pipen’s hand on the bottle – is a collaboration between Pippen and Savage & Cooke distillery, which is owned by Napa Valley winemaker Dave Phinney. The mature bourbon, aged for five years, is bottled at 92 proof.

Former tennis pro Andy Roddick and NFL Hall-of-Famer Peyton Manning collaborated on the soft launch of Sweetens Cove Bourbon in 2020, selling all 13,500 bottles in Georgia and Kentucky alone. Encouraged by that response, they released 50,000 bottles during the Cotton Bowl golf tournament in May 2021, expanding throughout Texas, Colorado, and Louisiana. Sweetens Cove Bourbon is distilled and aged in Tennessee and blended in Texas by master distiller Marianne Eaves.

After pitcher Tom Seaver authored a Hall-of-Fame career by winning 311 games and three Cy Young Awards and reversing the fortunes of baseball’s laughingstock New York Mets, he became one of the first former baseball players to create his own vineyard – in his case in his home state of California. The vineyard produces cabernet sauvignon in limited quantities.

Dwyane Wade spent most of his 16-year NBA career with the Miami Heat, winning three NBA championships and was a 13-time NBA All-Star. Wade Cellars is a partnership between Wade and the noted winemaking Pahlmeyer family created, in 2014. The stated mission of Wade Cellars is it “strives to make the wine industry more inclusive to people of all backgrounds consciously growing production and creating opportunities for access and education to all those who choose to indulge in this affordable luxury.”

Charles Woodson has won a college football national title with the University of Michigan, the Heisman Trophy, and a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers, and is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame. Woodson launched his Woodson Bourbon Whiskey in 2021. It is his first craft spirit and it was finished in the same French oak wine barrels used in the winemaking process of the Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon produced for his Intercept Winery.